Pyrimidine‐sensitive Drosophila wing mutants: withered (whd), tilt (tt) and dumpy (dp)

Abstract

Twenty‐five different autosomal wing mutants in Drosophila melanogaster were investigated for their possible relation to pyrimidine metabolism. This was undertaken by the use of a suppressor gene (su(r)) of the pyrimidine‐requiring mutant rudimentary (r). Two of the twenty‐five mutants, namely withered (whd) and tilt (tt), were found to be lethal in the presence of the suppressor gene. The pyrimidine metabolism of these mutants was further studied through feeding experiments with relevant metabolites and through an investigation of the metabolic fate of radioactively labelled pyrimidine compounds fed to larvae. It is suggested that these mutants affect uridinecytidine kinase. The phenotype of dumpy (dp) mutants was shown to be strongly enhanced by the suppressor gene. The present investigation provides further evidence that wing morphogenesis in Drosophila is closely related to pyrimidine metabolism. © 1974 Mendelian Society of Lund